The South Dakota Coyote women’s basketball team knows its season will likely come down to four days in Sioux Falls – the Summit League tournament in March.

The goal, if not expectation, will of course be to win that event to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament. So what better way to prepare for that far-away challenge than to get used to winning games in a home-away-from home 50 miles north of Vermillion?

USD came to the Sanford Pentagon on Wednesday night for a Thanksgiving Eve special against previously unbeaten Wichita State of the American Athletic Conference and treated a crowd of 1,892 red-clad supporters to an impressive 73-64 win over the Shockers.

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USD's Madison McKeever (23) looks to pass the ball during a game against Wichita State at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018.(Photo: Loren Townsley / Argus Leader)

USD (4-1) didn’t find the Pentagon rims to be particularly friendly, but they overcame early shooting woes with strong rebounding, pestering defense and a dogged determination to get to the free throw line where they converted often enough to keep Wichita State perpetually playing from behind.

That made for a fun environment and memorable win for a Coyote team whose nonconference schedule is just heating up – with Montana, Iowa State, Green Bay and Missouri State all on tap in the next two weeks.

“This is a big win,” said junior guard Ciara Duffy, who had 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes. “(Wichita) has had a really good start to their season and they’re a really athletic team. To grind that one out is big for us.”

And grind it out is what they did.

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USD's Ciara Duffy (24) goes for the ball during a game against Wichita State at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018.(Photo: Loren Townsley / Argus Leader)

USD shot just 27 percent in the first half and only 33 percent for the game. They were 2-of-17 from beyond the arc in the first half despite plenty of favorable looks against the Shockers’ zone defense. And while the Coyotes still managed to take an 18-7 lead after a quarter and push that lead as high as 15 early in the second, the game soon settled into a pattern of USD pushing the lead to high-single digits, and Wichita quickly cutting it back to one score. It went that way just about to the finish.

“There were some scenarios where we didn’t do as good a job of attacking,” said coach Dawn Plitzuweit. “We struggled to hit shots for long stretches and we struggled to finish at the rim. So we started to wonder – should we attack or should we kick it out – and when you play with that indecision you usually don’t make the best decisions.”

The Coyotes made four of their first five 3-point attempts of the third quarter to loosen up the Shocker defense some, but the real key was controlling the offensive boards and getting to the line. USD went 30-for-36 at the stripe, and used 17 offensive boards to beat Wichita 18-6 on second-chance points.

Madison McKeever, who had 19 points, was 9-of-10 at the line, and Duffy was 7-for-8.

“We just couldn’t shoot for a stretch there, but we found some different ways to score and went from there,” McKeever said. “When the 3s aren’t going look inside, kick out, drives – we needed to find another way. We got a lot of offensive rebounds and that helped us, too.”

Allison Arens and Chloe Lamb had eight points each for the Coyotes, who also forced 18 Shocker turnovers. Jaida Hampton and Seraphine Bastin had 12 points each to lead Wichita. The Shockers shot 52 percent from the floor but grabbed just 24 total rebounds, scored only nine points at the line and were 3-for-13 from long range.

Their zone defense gave USD trouble, but on most nights the Coyotes probably make enough 3s to put this one away sooner than they did.

“Those shots we missed early in the game – those were good looks for us,” Plitzuweit said. “We want them to shoot the ball there. We did do a nice job of getting to the offensive glass and creating second opportunities, and kept ourselves in the game with our defense.”

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USD players get introduced to the crowd before the game against Wichita State at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018.(Photo: Loren Townsley / Argus Leader)

It made for an entertaining night for the USD fans that showed up, and the players appreciated the support, too. McKeever said there were times the fans got loud enough that they couldn’t hear their coach. They’ll hope they can feed off similar energy the next time they’re in Sioux Falls.

“It was a really fun atmosphere,” Duffy said. “It’s crazy we can come and play an hour away and still have an awesome home crowd. It got loud in here. It was definitely a fun environment.”